


Never Close Enough To Touch, But Baby I Love What You're Doing To Me

by UniversallyEcho



Category: Soy Luna (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Ice Cream Parlors, Meet-Cute, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 11:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20599742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversallyEcho/pseuds/UniversallyEcho
Summary: "An ice cream shop?The only store open for miles to come during this late of a night was an ice cream shop? Okay sure, sometimes people got midnight cravings but during the beginning of the year when it was too cold to even go to the beach, she couldn’t imagine anyone going to buy frozen dessert. And why was it so empty? How was the store open if no one was working in it?As if the gods above were listening to her and ready to mock her once more, a young boy in light blue uniform popped up from behind the counter, startling her.He looks as surprised as she is when they make eye contact and the two find themselves in awkward stare down until the boy clears his throat and finally breaks the silence."Or; Ámbar finds out that some ice cream, cherry stems, and a cute employee can cheer up any bad day.





	Never Close Enough To Touch, But Baby I Love What You're Doing To Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cynthia_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynthia_Fangirl/gifts).

> The title was taken from the song "Doing To Me" by Astrid S

‘This can’t be the right place’ Ámbar thought to herself, her eyes wandering across the shop that stood in front of her. A red neon sign, illuminating the midnight sky, blinking ‘open’ was the only response she got back as the entire street seemed almost deserted.

A shiver ran across Ámbar’s back and she couldn’t decide if it was caused by the biting breeze hitting her bare shoulders or the eerie feeling being projected around her. 

She stares back down at her dead phone, it’s screen still black and still utterly useless, before sighing in defeat and walking into the only lit building in the neighbourhood. It was just her luck that she got lost on her way to a date. Emilia had insisted it would do her some good to get out of the house. Ever since a couple of days ago where she had her final blow up of rage against her friend group and boyfriend, or ex-friend group and ex-boyfriend now, and she locked herself in her room to sulk in peace. 

When Emilia, her only real friend and the only person to stick by her side, brought up the idea of getting out Ámbar persisted that it wouldn’t end well. It seemed once again that she was right. If she ever survives this night, she’ll be sure to rub it Emilia’s face.

Thankfully, the door to the unidentified store was open and within her first step inside she found herself speechless at the interior. Despite it’s abandoned and drabby outward appearance, the store itself was very much alive. The light wood floors looked newly polished. Booth seats clean and plush, lights hung up from the roofs and designed to spotlight each table. A blackboard menu even hung on the center wall with neat handwriting to display daily specials and prices.

What really caught Ámbars attention were the metal trays among trays holding colorful ice cream. Against the slightly frosted glass she could see an assortment of different flavors of the sweet treat. Some with chunks of chocolate and cookie pieces, others with swirls of fruit and flavored syrup, all of them smooth and creamy and delectable looking. Even so, she couldn’t help looking at them with wary curiosity.

An ice cream shop? 

The only store open for miles to come during this late of a night was an ice cream shop? Okay sure, sometimes people got midnight cravings but during the beginning of the year when it was too cold to even go to the beach, she couldn’t imagine anyone going to buy frozen dessert. And why was it so empty? How was the store open if no one was working in it?

As if the gods above were listening to her and ready to mock her once more, a young boy in light blue uniform popped up from behind the counter, startling her. 

He looks as surprised as she is when they make eye contact and the two find themselves in awkward stare down until the boy clears his throat and finally breaks the silence.

“Uh sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.” At Ámbar’s lack of response he continues, “How can I help you?”

It takes Ámbar’s brain a moment longer than she would like to admit to process the question before answering, “My phone died and I got lost, this was the only store that seemed open.” 

She watches carefully as his face transforms into a sympathetic expression before going to grab his own phone for her to borrow. She can feel her stomach turning slightly when he turns around to reach for the device. His light blue shirt thins out against his muscles, making them stand out. She can’t help herself if her throat goes a little dry at the sight. 

He was attractive. _ Really attractive _, much more than she would’ve originally thought a midnight ice cream parlor employee would be. A small part of her brain wishes he was the mystery date she was meant to be meeting right now. She pushes down the thought as soon as it appears, ‘What are you talking about Ámbar? You literally just met him’.

Not a second later his hand reaches out to gently place his phone in her palm. Their fingers touch, and it might just be her imagination, but she swears a spark of electricity runs through them. If he felt it too he does a good job at hiding it. Her phone call is short and to the point. She can feel his eyes on her throughout the conversation, while she explains to Emilia the situation and how she would have to cancel her date for another time.

She ends the call and handed the phone back to him, while sitting at the counter facing him. He takes the phone with a smile but not before offering, “While you wait for someone to pick you up, would you like a scoop? My treat.” 

He tilts his head at her slightly, waiting for a response, it surprises her that his beanie still manages to stay on his head when he moves. Did she mention he was wearing a beanie? Because he was. 

It was awful, absolutely hideous in all it’s _ ‘cobalt blue fleece’ _ glory, It couldn’t possibly have been part of the uniform, actually she’s almost positive it’s against the rules as a potential health hazard, yet somehow she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Not when his chocolate brown bouncy curls peeked out from beneath the hat.

This time she manages to get her words out in time, which is surprising as they almost get stuck in her throat again. 

“I’ll pass. Ice cream isn't really my thing.”

Her answer seems to do nothing but confuse him more if the furrow in his brow is any indication. 

“Not your thing?” He repeats. 

She shrugs slightly, “I’m not a huge fan of ice cream.” 

She watches as a number of expressions flood his face in a short amount of time. He seems to almost be struggling with an inner turmoil as he struggles to get the words out, “You don't like ice cream?”

Ámbar grows suddenly annoyed at the incredulous way he’s reacting. “Stop looking at me like that, im allowed to have an opinion.” She finishes her point with crossing her arms across her chest, waiting for him to make the next move.

“No you can have an opinion on normal things. Like what flavor is the best, if you prefer it in a cone or a cup, not on ice cream itself! Everyone likes ice cream!” 

She almost wants to laugh at how passionate he’s become but decides to roll her eyes instead and adds, “Well _ I _ don’t”.

Ámbar wouldn’t say that her childhood had left her deprived exactly, but it definitely wasn’t as carefree as she knows it could have been. Her godmother is stern and always has high levels of expectations for her. It doesn’t faze her much now but let’s just say ice cream wasn’t exactly on her diet very often growing up, which is why she doesn’t have much of a taste for it anymore, or any kind of sweets.

The boy huffs, seemingly unaware of the flashbacks going through Ámbar’s mind. “Well that’s not right, come on.” He motions for her to join him on the other side of the counter and Ámbar hesitates for a moment, unsure of what he’s going to expect from her. 

Eventually, curiosity gets the best of her and she finds herself at his side facing the selection of creamy flavors. She finds him crouching down, making a bit of a ruckus as he rummages for something. He finally pulls up with a paper cup meant for ice cream scoops, filled to the brim with plastic sampling spoons. 

“Here” He states gently placing one in her hand, _ damn there goes those electric sparks again. _“Take a new one for each different flavour. We wouldn’t want your palette to get muddied.” 

He says each word very deliberately, keeping up the serious facade, but his eyes hold a shine and twinkle of mischief which give him away immediately. With his face so up close to hers, she can even see the slight upturn in his lips, a wave of desire commands her to lean up just enough to kiss it softly. She doesn’t. _ Obviously _. But something inside her really wants to.

“Okay, individual spoons, no muddied palette.” She repeats as if she’s trying to ingrain them in her mind. The variety of options staring at her suddenly seem overwhelming. Which she _ knows _ sounds ridiculous. It’s just ice cream. But for a strange reason she doesn’t really want to think about, she needs to make a good impression on this boy. What if her first choice is super boring and the allure of mystery and intrigue she's trying to convey is blown? Or, worse, what if she somehow manages to choose the one flavour that is everyone’s absolute least favorite?

Her thoughts are interrupted as she feels a nudge against her side from the boy’s elbow. He smiles wide enough to show teeth and it sends Ámbar a feeling of comfort she’s never felt from a smile before. “There are no wrong answers.” He simply states, urging her to start with one.

A simple red swirled with deeper red cubes catches her eye, as it’s the flavor that seems to have been the one least chosen, it’s bin seems almost completely full compared to the others and Ámbar decides that means it’s either disgusting or a best kept secret. Either way, that's a risk she plans on taking. Once a decent amount is piled on her small spoon she looks to catch his approving gaze before tasting it. 

Bursts of juicy cherry pop in her mouth, as she takes in tart flavour taking over her mouth. This isn’t her first time tasting ice cream. Despite her godmother’s greatest attempt, she has had the dessert before but this certainly wasn’t what she was expecting.

Instead of a too-sweet artificial cherry that tasted more like medicine than a confection, the flavour she found was sour and refreshing all while still being creamy and smooth. She turns to the boy with a look on her face that must be extreme shock. He has a very self satisfied smirk on his face as if he was just waiting for her to finish to recite the words, ‘I told you so’. 

“Okay, I know I said there are no wrong answers but if this was a test you would have passed with flying colors.” 

Ámbar wishes she wasn’t standing so close to the boy as she’s sure he could hear the way her heart start beating just a little bit faster as he grinned at her with pride. To save herself from further embarrassment she shoves another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth,“Why is this so good?” she questions him in hopes of changing the subject.

She doesn’t miss how his entire face brightens at her compliments. 

“I’m glad the hours I spent pitting fresh cherries paid off.” 

Ámbar looks down to the arrangement of ice creams, and looks back to the boy whose now leaning back against the wall. He doesn’t seem like the comment was meant to be sarcastic.

“You made this?” 

He seems amused at her astonished expression. Shrugging he answers, “My aunt owns the store but she’s on maternity break now so I’m taking over. Normally I’d just help with making the ice cream but she needed someone to manage the store.”

He speaks as if he was willing to drop everything he was doing for someone he cared about. Like taking on that much responsibility for a family member is normal.. She wonders for a moment if she’s the odd one out in the situation. She’s sure that he must just be one of those wierd people who come from a big family where everyone is super involved in everyone elses business. She can’t imagine for one second her godmother interrupting her plans to help Ámbar, not even when the poor girl was younger and broke her leg skating. All she got that day was a long lecture on how scars will leave her body ugly as she ages.

Thankfully Ámbar is taken out of her thoughts when the young employer chooses that moment to speak again, “Actually you know something really useful I learned during the cherry pitting process?” Before Ámbar has a chance to respond, the boy’s face moves directly in front of hers, far too close for her self-control to manage. He opens his mouth and laying perfectly on the center of his tongue is the stem of a cherry tied in a knot. It’s not neat and definitely isn’t a tight knot, nothing that’s really that impressive, even so the boy seems very happy with himself to have accomplished this feat.

Ámbar rolls her eyes at his newfound ‘skill’. _ Where did he even get a cherry stem? Does he just have a container filled with them to show off anytime a cute customer comes by? _

“Is this your way of flirting with me?” She asks laughingly. She couldn’t count on two hands how many times guys have tried to use this tactic on her. Sure, at first she gave them a chance but at some point after your fifth high school party you realise that tying a cherry stem didn’t actually mean you were a good kisser, just that you had a _ lot _of free time on your hands.

“Do you want it to be?” 

She doesn’t think he meant the words to come out so sensual considering the light blush coloring his cheekbones but they definitely do. Especially since he still hasn’t returned to his original spot so his breath can be felt like huffs of air on her shoulder. Her line of vision gives her direct eyesight to his adam’s apple that moves steadily as he takes a deep gulp, the only indication that he’s feeling as affected as she is. 

“What’s your favorite flavour?!”

The words come out without her permission. As soon as she says them she wishes the earth would swallow her up and she’d never face the boy again. Especially when she watches his face transform from one of lust and attraction to one of confusion and amusement. A rush of embarrassment runs up through her veins and she just prays that he can’t tell how much she’s freaking out on the inside.

_ ‘What is wrong with you’ _ She asks herself for the second time. She panicked. She totally just froze and panicked. This had never happened to her before, but she couldn’t help it. She could’ve sworn he was going to move his head down lower and aim for a kiss, which Ámbar really wouldn’t be able to handle right now. Not when his brown sparkly eyes were so focused on her with fond interest. 

She clears her throat before attempting to seem like a normal human being, “I made the first choice on choosing a flavor, you should pick one for me now”.

The ever growing smile on his face portrays his excitement on the matter. His arm drapes loosely around Ámbar’s waist as he reaches behind her. It’s at that moment that her foot slips and she finds herself falling backwards.

She’s unaware if this was another way the universe could get back at her for all the awful things she’s done, because_ of course _ she would fall into the hands of the handsome stranger she meets randomly one night. 

He doesn’t seem to mind too much though, if his smirk is anything to go by. It’s _ interesting _ , she always hated when boys smirked at her. They always reminded her of villains in fairy tale stories with the way a snarky comment and a smirk made them drunk with power. On him though, she supposes he looks kind of cute. Not a vengeful or menacing smirk, but more of a friendly one. _ Very interesting. _

She can firmly feel his hand on her upper waist, it was barely there, holding on to her with just enough pressure to keep her from collapsing to the floor, even so it still made her stomach flutters with nerves. This time when she looks up and into his eyes, he’s staring right at her. His eyes are soft and looking at her with so much depth. _ Maybe she should just go for it? _

His lips look soft, and she caught him staring down to her lips too so maybe it was a sign for her to continue. Once making up her mind, she shuffles a little closer to him, his hold still staying firm as she lifts herself onto her toes. She’s going to do it. She’s going to lean up and press a kiss right - 

A car’s horn blares from the street outside the store, startling them both enough that the boy holding on to her shifts his hand, making them both crash to the ground. They stare at each other for a second processing what just happened when Ámbar bursts into laughter at the absurdity of what just happened. It takes the boy a beat of her laughter until he joins in as well. He gets up first, shaking his head before offering his hand to Ámbar. She takes it while brushing herself off.

Another minute of silence passes along them, this time though it’s not charged with sexual tension, it’s not even charged with awkwardness they just don’t want to say goodbye which is likely what’s to come.

“I think that’s my friend.” Ámbar breaks the silence. The boy rubs the back of his neck with one hand, his face now melancholy as he nods slowly.

“Yeah, I figured.” 

Despite the obvious need for Ámbar to leave, she finds herself preferring the idea of staying in the ice cream parlor with this random boy she just met. With an internal sigh, Ámbar started turning towards the door where Emilia was waiting for her, “Well I should probably…”

She makes it halfway to the exit when she hears the boy hurried after her and make her halt with the word “Wait!” Her steps faltered as she faces him once more to see him get shy again. “Um maybe you should give me your number.”

“My number?” She repeats, silently asking for an explanation. She had kind of assumed that they would both treat this as a fun night and never speak of it again.

“I know we only just met but, I had a lot of fun with you. Even just in this hour.” He made sense, if they enjoyed each other's company so much after having just met, the possibilities of what would happen once they developed a relationship were endless. Relationships were hard though, much harder than young harmless fun should be.

“I don’t even know your name.” 

She voiced another of her concerns in an attempt to dissuade him. It didn’t seem to work though. He somehow understood her doubts clearly and yet still refused to let it prevent this opportunity of friendship (or possible more than friend relationships).

He thrusts his arm out in front of her with a cheesy smile that manages to melt Ámbar’s barriers, even if it’s just for a second. 

“Simón. Simón Álvarez.” He introduces.

Deciding to follow her heart for at least one time in her life, Ámbar eyes the hand in front of her before going to shake it, “Ámbar smith. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasures all mine.”

She smiles back at him, a real smile for once that the fake kind that she’s used to presenting to the world, and she can see his eyes softening at her expression. It doesn’t take very long for every ounce of discipline in Ámbar’s body to dissipate. She came into this store, feeling numb from the pain of her normal life. And just one hour later she’s leaving feeling more refreshed than she has in a very long time. That itself should be enough for her to give him, give them a chance.

“Actually now that I think about it, I never did get to try your favourite flavour. Maybe you should have my number so we can reschedule”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!!! 
> 
> I know it's only been a few weeks but I'm sure some of you missed me! Well don't worry because I'm back with even more ideas than I had to begin with!!!
> 
> I literally have a list of prompts that I have to write, so you can start expecting more regular posts. School just started for me so things will be a little hectic but I'll try to stay somewhat organized. 
> 
> I feel like I've kind of forgotten how to write so I'm sorry if this wasn't the best and if you guys have any criticism please let me know!! Or just let me know if I'm overthinking things and this was good.
> 
> As always, I have a tumblr (theuniversezecho) where you can reach me with your ideas and I hope you enjoyed this fic!


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